Apparatus for depositing flowable material

ABSTRACT

Apparatus for depositing flowable material and particularly flowable granular material on traveling articles that are transported on a conveyor means with the apparatus including a conveyor for transporting the articles, a dispenser for depositing portions of the material on the articles and further portions beyond the boundaries of the article and a collector for intercepting and recovering these further portions with the collector being movable relative to both the dispenser and the conveyor for returning these further portions back to the dispenser.

I United States Patent 1191 1111 3,870,013

Wagner Mar. 11, 1975 [54] APPARATUS FOR DEPOSITING 3,502,196 3/1970 Allen et al. 118/312 X FLOWABLE MATERIAL 3,779,205 12/1973 Kuhlman ll8/l6 X [75] Inventor: Richard C. Wagner, Darien, 111. Primary Examiner john P. McIntosh [73] Assignee: Hollymatic Corporation, Park Afmmey, g g g r, Allen,

Forest, 111. Stellman & McCord [22] Filed: June 4, 1973 [57] ABSTRACT PP 366,369 Apparatus for depositing flowable material and particularly flowable granular material on traveling articles 52 us. 01. 118/24, 118/312 that are transported a Conveyor means with the P- 151 1111. c1. B05c 5/00 Pttratus including a conveyor for transporting the arti- [58] Field of Search 118/16 24 25 308 312 C168 3 dispenser for depositing Pmtiohs of the material on the articles and further portions beyond the [56] References Cited boundaries of the article and a collector for intercepting and recovering these further portions with the col- UNlTED STATES PATENTS lector being movable relative to both the dispenser f if ll8/3l2 X and the conveyor for returning these further portions 2 940 422 6l1960 13:32:: back to the dispenser 3,404,659 10/1968 Croston 3 Claims, 2 Drawing Figures PAIEMEDM H915 3.870.013

' SHtET 1 'OF 2 1 1 APPARATUS FOR DEPOSITING FLOWABLE MATERIAL BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION One of the features of this invention is to provide an improved apparatus for depositing a flowable material and particularly a granular material onto articles transported by a conveyor in which a portion of the material passes beyond the boundaries of the articles together with recovery collecting means for intercepting these further portions and means for moving the recovery collecting means relative to both the dispenser and the conveyor for returning these further portions to the dispensing means.

The most pertinent prior art of which applicant is aware is U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,227,067, 2,719,661, 3,217,760 and 3,404,659. The apparatus which is the subject of this invention, however, has certain advantages of construction and operation that are not present in any of these references.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a fragmentary side elevational view partially broken away and partially in section of an apparatus embodying the invention.

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view taken substantially along line 2-2 of FIG. 1.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT In the illustrated embodiment the apparatus comprises a flowable material dispenser embodied in the dispenser for cooked and drained ground beef 11 that is deposited from the dispenser on traveling pizza bases 12 as they are passed by a conveyor apparatus 13 beneath the dispenser 10. As illustrated, the dispenser 10 comprises a receiving hopper l4 supplied with the granular material 11 by a conveyor 15 and with the hopper 14 being attached to a cylindrical housing 16 in which is rotatably mounted a cylindrical drum l7 having spaced material receiving pockets 18 in its periphcry.

The pockets 18 of the dispensing means drum 17 receive the material 11 from the hopper 14 through an access opening 19 and dispense the material through a bottom opening 20 all as described in greater detail in my above-mentioned copending application.

The dispensing drum 17 is rotated by a chain 21 and 22 and sprocket drive with one sprocket 23 being attached to an agitator shaft 24 that extends through the hopper 14 for operating an agitator 25 therein. The chain 21 rotates the dispenser drum shaft 26 which is axially attached thereto with the result that as the dis pensing pockets 18 pass over a compressed air jet system 27 the portions 28 are dislodged from the pockets 18 to fall onto the top surfaces of the traveling pizza bases as they are passed from one conveyor 29 to a next adjacent conveyor 30 which form parts of the conveyor apparatus 13.

As can be seen in FIG. 1 the adjacent ends of the two conveyors 29 and 30 are spaced apart to form a depositing station in the area directly beneath the dispensing opening 20 as shown in FIG. 1. Those portions 31 of the granular material that are not deposited on the traveling bases 12 fall into a recovery means funnel structure 32 and from there into a recovery collecting member 33 that is adjacent to and beneath the conveyor apparatus.

In order to aid in passing the articles 12 from one conveyor 29 to the next conveyor 30 there are provided in the space between the conveyors and immediately above the funnel 32 a pair of horizontal rotary auxiliary transport means each in the form of a shaft 35 having radially projecting vanes 36 thereon. The shafts 35 are parallel to each other and the tips of the vanes 36 during rotation substantially are on a level with the upper reaches of the conveyors 29 and 30. Each shaft 35 may be rotated by any means desired such as takeoff indicated at 37 from the adjacent roller of a respective conveyor 29 and 30. Because of the spacing of the auxiliary transport means 34 embodied in the shafts 35 and vanes 36 the portions 31 that miss the articles 12 can easily pass therebetween and even if some are intercepted by the vanes 36 this is only temporary as the rotating vanes dump them for free fall into the recovery collecting means 33.

In the illustrated embodiment the recovery collecting member 33 comprises a rotatable wheel 38 of generally circular construction that has a solid periphery 39 and inwardly directed angled walls or partitions 40 and parallel sides 41 defining peripherally adjacent and inwardly opening pockets (FIG. 2). The wheel 38 is supported by support means including spaced bottom rollers 42 and 43 held in a foundation frame 44 for rotation in one direction such as the clockwise direction illustrated in FIG. 2. At least one of the supporting rollers 42 and 43 is driven as by an electric motor and chain 46 drive illustrated schematically at the lower portion of FIG. 2. As shown in the illustrated embodiment the angled partitions 40 form pockets that receive the material portions 31 that miss the traveling articles 12 and retains these portions 31 until they have been lifted to immediately above the hopper 14 where the angles of the partitions permit the portions 31 to fall by gravity into the open top end 47 of the hopper 14.

Thus, as can be seen, the wheel 38 comprising the recovery collecting means collects the portions 31 by gravity fall and elevates them to a location above the hopper 14 where gravity again causes them to return to the hopper 14. The apparatus of this invention occupies very small space and this is achieved by dispensing the granular material portions 28 in a vertical stream and locating the collecting means 33 to intercept the vertical stream of those portions which miss the traveling articles.

Having described my invention as related to the embodiment shown in the accompanying drawings, it is my intention that the invention be not limited by any of the details of description, unless otherwise specified, but rather be construed broadly within its spirit and scope as set out in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for depositing a flowable material on a travelling series of articles having spaced adjacent peripheries, comprising: conveyor means for transporting said articles through a depositing station; dispensing means above said conveyor means at said depositing station for depositing said material by gravity fall from the dispensing means onto the articles as said articles are transported through said station with some of said material falling beyond and between said peripheries of said articles; a receiving hopper means above and communicating with said dispensing means for supplying material from said hopperbygravity flow to said dispensing means; a recovery means beneath said station for recovering said portions of material falling beyond and between said peripheries of said articles and includinga rotatable recovery collecting member extending beneath the depositing station and above said dispensing means, said recovery collecting member having'a solid circular periphery and peripherally adjacent pockets therein facing inwardly toward both said receiving hopper and said depositing station; and means for rotating said recovery collecting member and thereby elevating said material collected in said pockets to a position above said dispensing hopper for redispensing drum substantially simultaneously. 

1. Apparatus for depositing a flowable material on a travelling series of articles having spaced adjacent peripheries, comprising: conveyor means for transporting said articles through a depositing station; dispensing means above said conveyor means at said depositing station for depositing said material by gravity fall from the dispensing means onto the articles as said articles are transported through said station with some of said material falling beyond and between said peripheries of said articles; a receiving hopper means above and communicating with said dispensing means for supplying material from said hopper by gravity flow to said dispensing means; a recovery means beneath said station for recovering said portions of material falling beyond and between said peripheries of said articles and including a rotatable recovery collecting member extending beneath the depositing station and above said dispensing means, said recovery collecting member having a solid circulaR periphery and peripherally adjacent pockets therein facing inwardly toward both said receiving hopper and said depositing station; and means for rotating said recovery collecting member and thereby elevating said material collected in said pockets to a position above said dispensing hopper for returning said recovered material by gravity fall successively from said pockets into said receiving hopper.
 1. Apparatus for depositing a flowable material on a travelling series of articles having spaced adjacent peripheries, comprising: conveyor means for transporting said articles through a depositing station; dispensing means above said conveyor means at said depositing station for depositing said material by gravity fall from the dispensing means onto the articles as said articles are transported through said station with some of said material falling beyond and between said peripheries of said articles; a receiving hopper means above and communicating with said dispensing means for supplying material from said hopper by gravity flow to said dispensing means; a recovery means beneath said station for recovering said portions of material falling beyond and between said peripheries of said articles and including a rotatable recovery collecting member extending beneath the depositing station and above said dispensing means, said recovery collecting member having a solid circulaR periphery and peripherally adjacent pockets therein facing inwardly toward both said receiving hopper and said depositing station; and means for rotating said recovery collecting member and thereby elevating said material collected in said pockets to a position above said dispensing hopper for returning said recovered material by gravity fall successively from said pockets into said receiving hopper.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said pockets are separated from each other by inwardly angled walls that are sloped toward said receiving hopper at the top of said recovery collecting member for said gravity fall into the recovery hopper. 